FAM107A as a Tumor Suppressor in Bladder Cancer Inhibits Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion

Objective: Bladder cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in urinary system. Recently, the function of family with sequence similarity 107 member A (FAM107A) has been reported in several carcinomas. This study aimed to reveal the potential role of FAM107A in bladder cancer.

Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was performed to assess the expression level of FAM107A in BC tissues and adjacent tumor-free bladder tissues. The results were confirmed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), western blot and immunohistochemistry staining in BC tissues and adjacent tumor-free bladder tissues as well as BC cell lines. In addition, plasmid was constructed to increase FAM107A protein level in BC cell lines. The effect of FM107A on cell growth, cell migration and invasion were analyzed by CCK8 assay, wound healing assay and transwell-invasion assay.

Results: The data showed that FAM107A was remarkably down-regulated in bladder cancer tissues and bladder cancer cell lines. Besides, low FAM107A expression was associated with high tumor grade of patients with bladder cancer. Moreover, the restoration of FAM107A remarkably suppressed the cell growth, migration, and invasion of BC cells.

Conclusion: In summary, FAM107A might serve as a tumor suppressor which inhibits BC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. This study suggests that FAM107A can be a candidate new diagnostic marker and possible therapeutic target gene of bladder cancer.